In mid April, the Communications Technology Consultants Association (CTCA) put most of this country’s telecom companies on the hot seat. They invited executives from TELUS, Bell Canada, Rogers Communications, MTS Allstream and Cogeco Data Services to sit on a panel at their annual conference in Kitchener, Ontario. I was honoured to be the TELUS representative.

The subject of our discussion was cloud computing and everything it makes possible – from applications like messaging, collaboration and videoconferencing to true “work anywhere, anytime” capabilities. And the biggest question was the one that came first. Roberta Fox, President and Senior Partner of Fox Group Consulting, told us that her clients still want reassurances that we’re serious about the cloud. Before they put “their hearts and souls into it”, she told us, they want to know that the telecom companies are going to stick with it for the next 8 to 10 years.

Another consultant agreed with her, worrying that as cloud services cut into our legacy products and services, we may start cutting back on the cloud. In other words, are we just dipping our toes in to test the waters, or are we really committed.

I told the panel that as far as TELUS is concerned, we've moved beyond legacy services to offer robust innovative cloud services that leverage our IP networks. My peers agreed. There was a consensus that if we don't offer cloud services, we'll lose clients to others who will – and the cloud is the best way to offer new solutions in place of our legacy services.

One of my peers pointed out that you can't offer the cloud unless you have a network. To me, you need both a reliable network and IT infrastructure for the client to really leverage the cloud. The great news is service providers have extensive knowledge and expertise in offering reliable network based services. In fact, here at TELUS we've been demonstrating an ability to offer cloud-like services for over 100 years. When you think about it, the voice services we all grew up with use a cloud-like structure, with the main applications residing on the network and the clients – the phone sets – accessing them. Then there are services like managed hosting, where we take over the management and monitoring of a client’s servers and they can access their data and applications from anywhere.

As I see it, the real challenge is to make sure that the networks we build for cloud services are as secure, reliable, efficient and scalable as possible. A client has to know that when they connect to the network, it will work, in just the same way you expect dial tone when you pick up the phone. That means end-to-end reliability, from layer 1 right to the application.

Sure, it’s easy to say, but it’s not that easy to do. If your service provider doesn’t get the fundamentals right, nothing will be right. It’s critical to ensure the network continues to offer unmatched reliability and uptime. But you’re probably more interested in the kind of services the cloud makes possible.

At TELUS, we think the big ones are:

• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), where we provide  computing infrastructure over the network, and manage the computing in our data centres – for example:
  • Managed hosting, where we monitor and manage the client’s servers and/or applications in our data centre
    
• Software as a Service (SaaS), where the application resides on the network, rather than on individual computers or tablets – for example:
  • Collaboration, with services like video conferencing, file sharing and more, making it possible for people to work together no matter where they are
    
• Platform as a Service (PaaS), where we provide the networks, server and storage and our clients use our tools and libraries to create their own applications and deploy them
  

Put all these together, and you’re going to be able to do just about anything on the cloud, even in remote areas.

Interestingly, we’ve found that as we open up our network to the developer community, they’re taking advantage of the opportunity to innovate. We’re seeing all kinds of new applications and we’re noticing how consumer-type services are being adopted and adapted for business use. For example, business social media is breaking down silos between us and our clients and suppliers, and between our clients and their stakeholders.

We also believe that we need to use cloud based collaboration tools like enterprise social media ourselves. Using the cloud in this way demonstrates the value to our clients and allows us to attract the quality workforce we need as they expect to have access to these tools.

So no, this cloud isn’t blowing away, it’s here to stay.  All I can say is the forecast looks terrific.

Lloyd Switzer

SVP-Network Transformation

TELUS

It wasn't too long ago Apple was a mere blip in a Windows-dominated world. At least its modest market share meant they flew under the radar among most cybercriminals.

But now that Macs are hot again we're hearing more about malware attacks. And with Apple's monstrously successful iPhone and iPad product lines there's a growing concern these iOS devices could also be an obvious target by tech-savvy thieves -- and pose a threat to the entire corporate network.

Before allowing these devices into the organization, IT must educate employees to the risks, use tools to safeguard company data and develop policies that can reduce the odds of a security breach.

Or do you ban consumer devices altogether?

"Your company should not develop policies that excludes iOS devices," says Kevin Sterneckert, Research VP at the Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner research and consulting group. "Your employees are going to use these devices with or without permission – and with the latter, it could expose your network to major security breaches." "In other words, don't adopt a stick-your-head-in-the-sand strategy."

In fact, allowing users to choose the device they want has its benefits. "It could be less expensive for the company if they're not paying for device," adds Sterneckert, "so we're seeing more of a 'you bring the device and we'll provide the service' kind of scenario in the workplace today."

Sterneckert says there are different approaches to protecting mobile devices on the network, but there are three minimum "behaviors" every company should adopt:

• A four-digit PIN (passcode) on the iPhone and iPad, plus an "auto-wipe" option that deletes data after a few incorrect login attempts.

• Encrypted back-up on the local workstation the iOS device is connected to. "This will protect and secure all data on the device," says Sterneckert.

• Ensure the "Find My iPhone" service (free) is enabled, so a lost or stolen device can be located remotely and/or wiped clean.

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync is also recommended for email. "The challenge is to make sure you put the right guardrails around environments, like email and web use, that include the right permissions, certificates and keys," says Sterneckert. "Apple has done a great job at that."

IT departments should also create policies based on the company's needs and/or industry's regulations. Make sure people understand their importance and why they're in place. For example, it's possible to limit the downloading of applications ("apps") from iTunes, disable the iPhone or iPad's cameras or curb corporate Wi-Fi use for personal reasons.

SMBs not doing enough?

It is incumbent upon businesses to develop these policies, but it's not yet highly prevalent in the small-to-midsized business space, says Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a Campbell, Calif.-based firm that provides industry analysis for the tech sector.

"Less than half of small businesses have formal IT policies in place," estimates Bajarin. "Even when they do, they struggle to enforce them given the mix of corporate and employee-owned devices across multiple platforms and device categories -- although there's policy management features available through mobile email servers."

At a minimum, companies should create policy rules and give them to employees, advises Bajarin. "Offer periodic reminders as well as education on security risk." "These policies should also encompass use of employee-owned devices to access company data -- things like mandatory password use, reporting lost/stolen devices or data and avoidance of removable storage are the bare bones minimum."

Mobile device management (MDM) software can help enforce these, as well as more advanced policies.

As smartphone and tablet adoption continues to increase, there is more of an "addressable market" for phishing and hacking of each platform, cautions Bajarin.